Fastener for shoes, articles of clothing, tilts or hoods, and the like



Oct. 5, 1954 J. WELTEROTH 2,690,603

. FASTENER FOR SHOES ARTICLES OF CLOTHING, TILTS OR HOODS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 18, 1952 F'iG.l

INV ENTOR- J05 ef MUS Qn'oth.

Patented Oct. 5, i954 STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENER FOR SHOES, ARTICLES OF CLOTHING, TILTS \OR HOODS, AND

THE LIKE Josef Welteroth, IIrlenborn, near Eitorf (Sieg), Germany 1 Claim.

1 This invention relates to a fastener for shoes, articles of clothing, tilts or hoods and the like, operable by means of a sliding strap serving to hold together the portions to be fastened.

In accordance with the invention, said sliding strap is constituted by several links elastically connected to each other. Said links engage counterlinks which are secured to the portions to be fastened. The invention also comprises elastic means transversely yieldable with respect to the direction of motion of the sliding strap and disposed between the portions to be fastened and the sliding strap fastener. Said elastic means preferably include elastic bands, such as for example rubber bands, which are ductile in transverse direction only.

It is preferred to use counterlinks having the form of staples. Said staples are fixed to the outer surfaces of the elastic bands, whereas the other edges of said bands are attached to the portions to be fastened, for instance the upper leather of the shoe or the like.

The embodiment according to the invention excels in holding together portions to be fastened like a zip-fastener, but permitting a lateral expansion so as to enable the shoe or any other article which is fastened by means of a sliding strap according to the present invention to fairly accommodate itself to the particular conditions of use. It is also arranged that the links of sliding strap will cooperate with the counterlinks of the elastic band so as to allow the action of significant tensile forces in transverse direction arising from the elastic connection between the portions to be fastened and said counterlinks without running the risk of being released. As to shoes, boots and the like, the sliding strap fastener according to the present invention substitutes for the prior lacings, although it will be useful to apply it in conjunction with other articles of clothing, tilts or hoods and the like.

By way of example, an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing showing more details of design, in which Fig. 1 is a top view of a sliding strap fastener according to the present invention, said sliding strap being partly fragmentary shown;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1, shown in an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line IIIIII of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a shoe provided with a sliding strap fastener according to the present invention.

In accordance with the invention, for holding together members or portions I and 2 to be fastened, such as for instance the upper leather portions of a shoe, which are separated by a slit and generally laced to one another, there is used a sliding strap 3 including a plurality of links 4 arranged in juxtaposition so as to form a continuous line. Said links 5 are connected to each other in a flexible manner, for instance by means of a pliable leather band 5, which is secured to the upper surface of said links by means of end clips 6 or the like. An adequate pliable band 5a may also be provided on the lower side of the links d. The distances of the several links 4 intermediate one another are to be chosen so as to enable the band to be bent as a whole in accordance with the shape of foot. Said links are provided with a center land or web 400 from the upper and the lower sides of which project angular pieces 41) and 4c forming jaws. Said angular pieces backwardly embrace U-shaped counterlinks clamped to the outer longitudinal edge of a band 8. The counterlinks or staples l are likewise spaced. The interconnecting band 8 has elastic features, i. e. its elasticity is to be restricted to the transverse direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of said sliding strap 3. For this purpose, a special rubber band being elastic in transverse direction only may be used. The elastic interconnecting band is secured to the portions and 2 in any manner, for instance by sewing or the like. Both sides of the sliding strap 3 are provided with projecting portions 9 which may be inclined towards the band 8 so as to prevent any dust or dirt or the like from penetrating intermediate said projecting portions 9 and the interconnecting band 8. The pliable band 5 preferably extends over the total width of the links 4 with the projections 9. It is preferred to dispose the portions I and 2 as well as the lower surface of links 4 at the same level. The portions I and 2 may be arranged above the bands 8 as drawn with dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The operation of the sliding strap fastener according to the present invention is as follows:

The sliding strap 3 is secured to a terminal link l0 mounted on the end portion of a slit ll of portions l and 2 to be fastened. The elastic band 8 is provided with a cut-out l2 between the first counterlinks or staples 1 and said terminal link I0, said cut-out enabling the sliding strap 3 to be fully pushed out, as shown in Fig. 4. The thickness of the first staples I may gradually increase up to their full height in order to facilitate the sliding in and out of links 4. Then the sliding strap will be drawn over the total length of the portions to be fastened. With its top position, the sliding strap may be secured against sliding back by any suitable means, such as for instance by notches or the like. For the purpose of opening the fastener, said sliding strap will merely be pushed back, whereby the links 4 successively enter the cut-out l2 so as to increasingly release the sliding strap until the last link may be taken out of said cut-out [2. Then the slit ll would be fully opened. Thus, the sliding strap 3 embodies a tongue gusset or half bellows tongue elastically connecting and holding together the portions I and 2, while simultaneously overlapping the slit therebetween.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted herein otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A fastener for shoes, articles of clothing and the like comprising a pair of members having edges normally spaced from each other, an elongated sliding strap between said member edges, links at opposite sides of the strap, means for flexibly connecting said links, counterlinks 00- operating with the aforesaid links carried by the edges of said members and elastic means interposed between the member edges and said connter-links, said elastic means comprising an elongated elastic strip ductile only in a direction normal to the length of said strap, the counterlinks being staples secured to the adjacent edges of the elastic strip and having portions extending above and below said strip and the outer edges of the elastic strips being secured to said members, the links on the sliding strap being spaced from each other and embracing said staples above and below the strips, one end of the strap being anchored in position, the strap adjacent the anchored end and the adjacent ends of said members being free of links and counterlinks whereby the other end of the strap may be entirely disengaged from said members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 318,382 Lushbaugh May 19, 1885 585,655 Denno July 6, 1897 593,272 Denno Nov. 9, 1897 873,063 MacNelly Dec. 10, 1907 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 447,616 Great Britain May 21, 1936 

